My story 'Time of the Bursting' has been published in the anthology 'Disharmony of the Spheres: http://nomadicdeliriumpress.com/blog/product/disharmony-of-the-spheres/
It is an anthology of stories that focus on mental illness. This is the most meaningful anthology I have been in.
Half the profits from this book will
go to the Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention Organization, a group that
battles teen suicide.
The following is from the product description.
"Mental illness is very common in our society, but it’s also very
misunderstood. Many view those with mental illnesses as being weak, but
there is a great deal of strength in those that must battle their own
minds on a regular basis. Disharmony of the Spheres focuses on
characters with mental illnesses that are still able to be successful.
They may not completely overcome their illnesses, but they are able to
beat them back and succeed."
Sunday, October 22, 2017
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Oh No!!! There Is Politics In My Entertainment...
Note, this post will talk about politics. This is your only warning. If you keep on reading, it is all on you.
I know a writer on Facebook, who for various reason I decided to unfriend. His views were just insulting and often he would say 'no comment zone' when making a political post and delete any comments that were left. Too often these post were as inaccurate as it gets, with no facts to back them up, and obviously you were not allowed to correct him by telling him the facts. I had enough once he tried to compared homosexuals wanting to not be discriminated against with the KKK, which was for me crossing an unforgivable line. However when I wish to see what the other side is saying I check out his page. The other day he had a political cartoon going after Marvel Comics for being 'Social Justice Warriors' along with his rant about how Marvel went downhill after getting political.
And I am fine with that, as it is his opinion.
Jump a week or so, and I learned the original The Day The Earth Stood Still was on Netflix and my girlfriend had yet to see it. So we watched it.
Did you know it has a strong, obvious political statement to it? And that statement is clearly liberal? And that it was made over sixty years ago?
I wonder if my former FB friend knows of this?
Sci-fi in general seems to have a lot of strong liberal messages to them, and has for some time. Roddenberry never hid the liberal ideas in Star Trek. The whole series was highly political. Roddenberry would be labeled a 'Social Justice Warrior' nowadays and most likely would wear that label proudly.
I could go into a list of books, movies and TV shows that back me up here, but that would be long and boring. There does seem to be an historic truth that the future favors progressive thinking and that truth pops up in our fiction regularly for a reason. Instead I will do some generalizing.
Are there any stories where the unregulated corporations are the good guys and not the villains? Capitalism left unchecked is the go to bad guys for a good deal of stories. Our fiction very clearly says that the free market will NOT fix itself, even in the more conservatively written stories. We as a society would not find a story where a corporation left to its own devices, without some form of oversight, being the good guys and putting doing what is right above making money just because it is the right thing - just too unbelievable. Tony Stark doesn't become heroic until he suffers at the hands of his company's unchecked greed and realizes there needs to be regulation there. And very often Iron Man's enemies are his business rivals who do all they can to be unregulated.
Any political messages there?
Marriage equality, gay rights and accepting homosexuals is pretty much everywhere nowadays. Is there any mainstream sci-fi right now that is not promoting a pro-LGBT message? Both Marvel and DC comics have been pushing such a message for several decades now.
Maybe my FB friend is bothered by Marvel being critical of a President they disagree with? That's brand new right? Sorry, but back in the '70s Captain America was fighting a bunch of bad guys and found himself in the Oval Office and that the President (We never see his face, but it was obvious as to which President) was actually behind this criminal plot. Steve Rodgers gave up being Captain America for a time because he was so disillusioned.
But I guess that was not being political somehow.
Politics has been in our entertainment as far back as human history goes. For someone to suddenly get upset because any form of entertainment has a political message they disagree with seems to be overacting to me. If you are serious about such things, there really is little out there for you to enjoy. If you can't handle political views you disagree with being expressed to you, it would be best to avoid reality in general as well as most forms of entertainment.
Politics are always going to pop up in entertainment no matter what. It comes out in the creative process and it would be insulting to imply any artist should censor themselves for your comfort. People like my former FB friend must live in an odd state of denial if he is just now getting upset over how political his entertainment is.
I know a writer on Facebook, who for various reason I decided to unfriend. His views were just insulting and often he would say 'no comment zone' when making a political post and delete any comments that were left. Too often these post were as inaccurate as it gets, with no facts to back them up, and obviously you were not allowed to correct him by telling him the facts. I had enough once he tried to compared homosexuals wanting to not be discriminated against with the KKK, which was for me crossing an unforgivable line. However when I wish to see what the other side is saying I check out his page. The other day he had a political cartoon going after Marvel Comics for being 'Social Justice Warriors' along with his rant about how Marvel went downhill after getting political.
And I am fine with that, as it is his opinion.
Jump a week or so, and I learned the original The Day The Earth Stood Still was on Netflix and my girlfriend had yet to see it. So we watched it.
Did you know it has a strong, obvious political statement to it? And that statement is clearly liberal? And that it was made over sixty years ago?
I wonder if my former FB friend knows of this?
Sci-fi in general seems to have a lot of strong liberal messages to them, and has for some time. Roddenberry never hid the liberal ideas in Star Trek. The whole series was highly political. Roddenberry would be labeled a 'Social Justice Warrior' nowadays and most likely would wear that label proudly.
I could go into a list of books, movies and TV shows that back me up here, but that would be long and boring. There does seem to be an historic truth that the future favors progressive thinking and that truth pops up in our fiction regularly for a reason. Instead I will do some generalizing.
Are there any stories where the unregulated corporations are the good guys and not the villains? Capitalism left unchecked is the go to bad guys for a good deal of stories. Our fiction very clearly says that the free market will NOT fix itself, even in the more conservatively written stories. We as a society would not find a story where a corporation left to its own devices, without some form of oversight, being the good guys and putting doing what is right above making money just because it is the right thing - just too unbelievable. Tony Stark doesn't become heroic until he suffers at the hands of his company's unchecked greed and realizes there needs to be regulation there. And very often Iron Man's enemies are his business rivals who do all they can to be unregulated.
Any political messages there?
Marriage equality, gay rights and accepting homosexuals is pretty much everywhere nowadays. Is there any mainstream sci-fi right now that is not promoting a pro-LGBT message? Both Marvel and DC comics have been pushing such a message for several decades now.
Maybe my FB friend is bothered by Marvel being critical of a President they disagree with? That's brand new right? Sorry, but back in the '70s Captain America was fighting a bunch of bad guys and found himself in the Oval Office and that the President (We never see his face, but it was obvious as to which President) was actually behind this criminal plot. Steve Rodgers gave up being Captain America for a time because he was so disillusioned.
But I guess that was not being political somehow.
Politics has been in our entertainment as far back as human history goes. For someone to suddenly get upset because any form of entertainment has a political message they disagree with seems to be overacting to me. If you are serious about such things, there really is little out there for you to enjoy. If you can't handle political views you disagree with being expressed to you, it would be best to avoid reality in general as well as most forms of entertainment.
Politics are always going to pop up in entertainment no matter what. It comes out in the creative process and it would be insulting to imply any artist should censor themselves for your comfort. People like my former FB friend must live in an odd state of denial if he is just now getting upset over how political his entertainment is.
Monday, October 9, 2017
A Very Pleasant Surprise
I was sitting around, feeling like watching something, but no idea what to watch. I went randomly scrolling through Netfllix to find something. Saw a film I had never heard of starring Simon Pegg and figured that was a good bet.
The film was titled Absolutely Anything.
Just watching the credits I was already gaining faith in the film.
The full surviving cast of Monty Python as the voices of the aliens, written and directed by Terry Jones and with Robin Williams in what would be his final role as the voice of Dennis the dog. Such a huge batch of talent.
The story is that aliens have discovered Earth and have decided to judge us. This is done by giving one random person the power to bend reality as he pleases and see how he handles it. They do not inform the individual, just get him the powers and see what happens.
So Simon Pegg's character is given the powers and slowly learns he has them. The powers work by doing what they are told do without concern for the intention behind the commands, which is where most of the comedy for the movie comes from. There were good stretches where I just could not stop laughing. He really is about the best comedic actor out there right now.
The film was titled Absolutely Anything.
Just watching the credits I was already gaining faith in the film.
The full surviving cast of Monty Python as the voices of the aliens, written and directed by Terry Jones and with Robin Williams in what would be his final role as the voice of Dennis the dog. Such a huge batch of talent.
The story is that aliens have discovered Earth and have decided to judge us. This is done by giving one random person the power to bend reality as he pleases and see how he handles it. They do not inform the individual, just get him the powers and see what happens.
So Simon Pegg's character is given the powers and slowly learns he has them. The powers work by doing what they are told do without concern for the intention behind the commands, which is where most of the comedy for the movie comes from. There were good stretches where I just could not stop laughing. He really is about the best comedic actor out there right now.
Kate Beckinsale pays the love interest. Her character is dealing with an obsessive ex-boyfriend played by Rob Riggle, who ends up being the main human antagonist in the film. Beckinsale's character also serves as the human anchor for the all powerful Pegg, giving some morality to what might had otherwise just been a crazy comedy.
With all the talent and names connected to the film, as well as being Robin Williams' last role, it surprises me the film didn't get more attention during its brief, limited, theater run here in the states. I found it highly enjoyable and fun, and a truly pleasant surprise for a movie I had never heard of, but should had.
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